For those of you who have short term rentals, what is your policy on having guests over?

Well mine are 1 bed so if there is a guest it's going to be a snuggle fest.

There should not be any guests staying overnight other than those who have rented the unit.

I guess my question would be how would you know if there are non-permitted guests? Camera, neighbor?

What issues are you trying to solve? Don't want extra guests? Take away the sleeper sofa. Limit the number of towels you have in the unit.

I have exterior cameras but I don't look at them unless someone gives me a reason to look at them. I text them the electronic door code. I still haven't seen the guy who came 6/28 and not heard a peep out of him.

I don't prohibit guests. I have occupancy limits for overnight guests.

You can place a limit on the number of cars per unit in the driveway. Is this in an area where street parking is common or allowed?

Yours sounds like a MTR. Include a utility allowance if units are separately metered and charge if it goes over.

Just tell them there the limit on the number of cars is, such as 2 cars per unit. If your space allows for more cars, you can designate it as visitor parking, first come first serve.

If you find parking is still a problem, print and laminate parking passes for each unit for guests and visitors to put on their dashboard. Any other cars parked on the driveway are subject to be towed. You don't have to actively police it.

MTR is Medium Term Rental. Longer than a month but shorter than a year.

What makes it so that you can't have an allowance for water?

With utilities included in a MTR (Mid-term rental), this is my policy:

Brief visits by a guest are permitted when the resident is there. The guest must not take part in activities reserved for occupants, like showering, sleeping or laundry.

However, if a spouse comes for a weekend from their home in another state, I don't fuss over it. It balances out when the resident goes back home for the weekend.

You could get a sub meter and read it out but to me with STR you should be making enough to allow for usage.

I am assuming that there are no limitations in state law with passing overage costs to your guests for STR/MTRs.

When your guests reserve with you, tell them that total costs of water are split evenly between two units. Each unit has a water allowance is $50 per month, which more than sufficiently covers average usage for two people per unit. Average usage is X gallons for water and Y gallons for sewer, as determined by prior usage and/or what your water utility tells you is the average per person usage in their coverage area. Tell them that overage of usage will be evenly split between the two units, pro-rated to the dates of their stay.

Record the water meter reading prior to the guest moving in, just after they have moved out, and at the same set dates every month. Use that to calculate how much will be contributed to the quarterly water bill for the equivalent period of their stay. Your water utility can give you the per gallon rates.

Using those readings, calculate what the portion of the water bill be for the quarter. Base fees and other fees on the water bill are assumed to be included in your allowance. If everything is on track for the $50 allowance based on meter readings, all is okay. If the billing is a few dollars above and they have had a reasonable number of guests, eat the costs and adjust your future pricing accordingly. If it is way above, check for leaks before passing on the costs. The overage costs can be deducted from their security deposit when they leave. Share the readings with them if you deduct.

Keep the record of the meter readings in case of questions. This process should put you reasonably close to what your quarterly bill would be. Make adjustments as needed.

It seems that your units are apartments are down the road from your home. You are renting to someone on a remote work assignment for an extended stay. It is not unexpected for them to have friends or family stay overnight, or even for a week or two. This is true if they are a travel nurse in Omaha or a college professor with a research assignment in Italy for the summer. What seems more important is that they don't exceed occupancy levels, have house parties, have a full-time guest, or are otherwise disruptive.

Like DJ said, it balances out. They go home for the weekend, or they away playing tourist in your area.

More stringent rules about guests are prudent if you are renting a room in your house, a unit attached to your home property, or are renting through a platform which limits guest contact, verification, or your control of security deposits.

Do what works for you.

I am assuming that there are no limitations in state law with passing overage costs to your guests for STR/MTRs.

When your guests reserve with you, tell them that total costs of water are split evenly between two units. Each unit has a water allowance is $50 per month, which more than sufficiently covers average usage for two people per unit. Average usage is X gallons for water and Y gallons for sewer, as determined by prior usage and/or what your water utility tells you is the average per person usage in their coverage area. Tell them that overage of usage will be evenly split between the two units, pro-rated to the dates of their stay.

Record the water meter reading prior to the guest moving in, just after they have moved out, and at the same set dates every month. Use that to calculate how much will be contributed to the quarterly water bill for the equivalent period of their stay. Your water utility can give you the per gallon rates.

Using those readings, calculate what the portion of the water bill be for the quarter. Base fees and other fees on the water bill are assumed to be included in your allowance. If everything is on track for the $50 allowance based on meter readings, all is okay. If the billing is a few dollars above and they have had a reasonable number of guests, eat the costs and adjust your future pricing accordingly. If it is way above, check for leaks before passing on the costs. The overage costs can be deducted from their security deposit when they leave. Share the readings with them if you deduct.

Keep the record of the meter readings in case of questions. This process should put you reasonably close to what your quarterly bill would be. Make adjustments as needed.

It seems that your units are apartments are down the road from your home. You are renting to someone on a remote work assignment for an extended stay. It is not unexpected for them to have friends or family stay overnight, or even for a week or two. This is true if they are a travel nurse in Omaha or a college professor with a research assignment in Italy for the summer. What seems more important is that they don't exceed occupancy levels, have house parties, have a full-time guest, or are otherwise disruptive.

Like DJ said, it balances out. They go home for the weekend, or they away playing tourist in your area.

More stringent rules about guests are prudent if you are renting a room in your house, a unit attached to your home property, or are renting through a platform which limits guest contact, verification, or your control of security deposits.

Do what works for you.